Santa parades bring Holidays to North Shore communities

SANTA and his Elf helper arrived on a Sheldon Fire Department ladder truck, decorated for the Holiday Season with lights and Christmas greetings.
SANTA and his Elf helper arrived on a Sheldon Fire Department ladder truck, decorated for the Holiday Season with lights and Christmas greetings.
SANTA and his Elf helper arrived on a Sheldon Fire Department ladder truck, decorated for the Holiday Season with lights and Christmas greetings.

NORTH SHORE – Ho Ho Ho, Santa came to the North Shore communities, riding a Sheldon Fire Department truck, last Friday night, December 20th.

The event was originally scheduled for the week before, but rain and cold weather forced the delay for Santa.

The parade route was determined so that the most communities in the area could see Santa’s arrival and the decorated emergency vehicles without having to drive and park a distance from their homes. Sheldon Fire Chief Sidney Webb and his wife, and North Channel Assistance Ministries directors Rodney and Gail Redford planned the route.

The parade started at Holly Park, at the Sheldon 9th grade school, headed south on Freeport Street, turned east on the I-10 frontage road, turned north on Sheldon Road, turned west on Woodforest, and ended at the Kroger store at Normandy and Woodforest Blvd. Families lined the route for most of the way, and you could hear the sirens and see the lights for many blocks in the distance as they approached.

Participating emergency public safety units included Sheldon FD, Channelview VFD, South Lake Houston EMS, Pct. 3 Constables, and other groups.

The arrival point was the parking lot of the Kroger’s store on Woodforest at Normandy, where a group of several hundred had gathered for the photos with Santa and the candy and gifts that were handed out by Santa and his Elfs and a red-nosed Rudolph reindeer character.

Other Christmas parades were held by Galena Park and Jacinto City fire departments earlier in the month.